Is there a Football Hall of Fame berth in Kim McQuilken's future?

Lehigh University has never had one of its football players inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. If the Hall is looking for a legitimate – and eligible -- Brown and White candidate, I doubt that it could do better than Kim McQuilken.

I first covered a McQuilken football game when he was playing for my all-time favorite high school coach, George “Fritz” Halfacre at Allen.

When Kim became the starting quarterback at Lehigh in 1971, I saw him play only three games. I was covering Lafayette football at the time. McQuilken beat the Leopards three straight times, winning back-to-back Lafayette-Lehigh MVP awards in 1972-73. I fumbled on this paragraph in my original version of the blog, and I apologize to Kim and the rest of those 70s Engineers for that.

The reason for revisiting McQuilken’s playing days this week is to remember the time 40 years ago that he was selected in the third round of the NFL Draft. He didn’t have a professional career that was anywhere near that of his Lehigh career, but that should not detract from the fact that for three years, he was among the best in the country at what he did.

I went looking for a list of qualifications for inclusion into the National Football Foundation’s elite club. Here’s what I found on Wikipedia, which may not be the end-all of Internet sites, but certainly has its strong points.

Criterion: "A player must have received major first team All-America recognition."

McQuilken: He was an Associated Press and Kodak first-team All-American in 1973 and a third-teamer on the AP’s 1972 team.

Round 2 NHL Playoff Picks: Can Rangers beat Pens?

Even though it went seven games, the New York Rangers dominated the Philadelphia Flyers for most of their Round 1 series.

Even if Flyers goalie Steve Mason played the first two games, the Rangers still would have won the series because Mason’s heroics in Game 7 weren’t enough for the lackluster, disorganized Flyers.

And the Rangers seem kind of anonymous. They didn’t look all that special, at least not on offense. They move the puck from side to side well, which was key in the first few games when they faced goalie Ray Emery, who is laterally-challenged.

Martin St-Louis scored two nice goals in the beginning of the series and Mats Zuccarello (four points) looked OK, but Derek Stephan (four points) was ordinary, Brad Richards was barely noticeable and Rick Nash (zero goals, four assists) was just plain ineffective.

But it isn’t about the offense with the Rangers, is it?

Defensemen Ryan McDonagh and Dan Girardi seem to block every puck shot within 10 feet of them. And the ones that are let through are usually gobbled up by goalie Henrik Lundqvist, especially when they are shot away from the crease.

That is the real secret to beating the Rangers – penetrating their D the way Flyers power forward Wayne Simmonds did in Game 6 when he scored a hat trick and shooting behind or next to the Rangers defensemen.

Can the Penguins do that? And if they do, will their leaky-at-times goalie, Marc-Andre Fleury (whose 2.81 goals against average is second-worst of all the starting goalies remaining) hold up his end of the deal enough to win?

The Pens have the more talented roster, but I see them losing in Round 2 in a series that could feature the most dives and heads whipping back to accentuate high sticks in the history of the sport.

Here’s why:

Sidney Crosby was pretty much shut down in Round 1 by the Columbus’ defense and forward Brandon Dubinsky.

Jack Johnson emerged as an absolute stud at both ends of the ice for the Blue Jackets, and James Wisniewski was crafty with the puck and good enough on D. But the Rangers D has the ability to suffocate Crosby, who had zero goals and six assists last round.

I know, I know, there’s that Evgeni Malkin guy. But Malkin was pretty silent too until he score his only three goals in Game 6. (It was a nice time to show up.)

All the Rangers have to do is continue their stifling style and let Lundqvist clean up the rest. Fleury, meanwhile, can get lit up, even by some of the marginal forwards the Rangers have.I think the Rangers, who are more dedicated to their system than any other team in the league besides the Boston Bruins, will pull this out in seven games.

Here’s how I see the rest of Round 2 going:

My Round 1 prediction record, by the way, was 6-2.

Eastern Conference

Boston Bruins (1) vs. Montreal Canadiens (3)

The Canadiens are certainly fun to watch – especially their magician, P.K. Subban, and perennial playoff producer Danny Briere. And their 4-game sweep of the Tampa Bay Lightning was impressive. But the Bruins are a whole different story. As good as Canadiens’ goalie Carey Price is (1.98 GAA in the playoffs so far), Bruins netminder Tuukka Rask has been even better (1.16 GAA).

And the Bruins are better everywhere else with monsters Milan Lucic and Zdeno Chara and great playoff grinders like Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand.

Prediction: Bruins in 6.

Western Conference

Anaheim Ducks (1) vs. Los Angeles Kings (3)

LA is always the hardest team to evaluate because their sum is better than their parts. On one hand, they showed weakness by going down 0-3 against the San Jose Sharks in Round 1. Then they showed incredible determination in coming back and winning the series. So who are they?

I really like Anaheim’s top-end talent. Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Cam Fowler are all dynamic players. But the Kings have the horses to contain them. And they can outscore them, too, with Jeff Carter, Anze Kopitar and Justin Williams.

Plus they have an edge in net with Jonathan Quick.

Prediction: Kings in 7.

Chicago Blackhawks (3) vs. Minnesota Wild (4)

A Wild series win against the Cup champs would be an awesome David-and-Goliath story. And it would be a great redemption story for Ilya Bryzgalov if he’s forced to play. (He had to come in at the end of the Wild’s Round 1, Game 7 win against the Colorado Avalanche after Darcy Kuemper was injured.)

But unless the Blackhawks completely implode or some of the stars are injured, they’re going to win this series. They just have too much with Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook etc.

Corey Crawford is often viewed as one of the areas that can be exploited by other teams (his glove hand, specifically) but he’ll be the better goalie in this series.